Key man: The Swedish fans are hoping Zlatan Ibrahimovic can lead them to victory (Image: Getty)

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“We need to beat England and considering how poor we were in the first game, everyone is planning for an early exit,” Eurosport’s Anton Boström tells me from Stockholm as we talk about Friday evening’s match.

Expressen’s Daniel Kristoffersson, who is with the national team in Ukraine, calls it a “do-or-die game for Sweden, a view that Erik Hamrén has shared at training”.

Kenny Pavey, a south Londoner who has played in Sweden since 1998 and won every domestic honour there is in the country, has had a quiet time of late.

“Swedish people are too worried about themselves at the moment; they are nervous. I’ve been going into training singing England songs and trying to wind my teammates up, but so far they’ve been quiet”.

The younger generation of Swedish football supporters believe that the superstars of England are a team to fear. This is summed up by Siyamand Piroti, a teenage Örebro fan, who mentions that his country have players from “the Allsvenskan [the top division in Sweden] while England have players who all play in the Premier League and are all world stars”.

Yet once questioned further, there’s a realisation that these are all but initial thoughts; a reaction to the sombre atmosphere that has enveloped the country since the final whistle blew on Sweden’s opening night defeat against Ukraine.

Sweden were expected to win that match, despite Ukraine being the host nation. The Ukrainians were not being written off, merely that there was belief in the talents of the squad that Hamrén had selected.

Even now, Swedish focus remains on their team rather than the opposition, and players such as Rasmus Elm and Ola Toivonen have to quickly improve.

There’s a healthy Swedish obsession with the Premier League. The traditional Saturday 3pm matches have been transmitted on Swedish television for the past fifty years. Football supporters in Sweden have grown up with the English stars being as familiar as their own favourites.

“This England team is the worst it has been for as long as I can remember,” believes Boström.“We also have the history of not losing against England.”

Before the November 2011 match at Wembley, a game that killed the 4-4-2 formation for Sweden and directly led to the repositioning of Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a free role behind a lone forward where he excelled against Ukraine, the last England victory between the two sides was in May 1968.

The Swedish know that players such as Steven Gerrard will be a threat but they also believe that not one player that England can call upon in Kyiv can match Ibrahimovic for skill and status.

There’s a strong feeling that players like Scott Parker and Danny Wellbeck won’t strike fear into the Swedish players. Perhaps Wayne Rooney might have been that player, and the general sense is that he falls just short of Ibrahimovic’s talents, but the Manchester United forward serves the final game of his suspension – something that gives extra hope to Sweden.

“It is a big advantage for Sweden that Rooney cannot be selected,” Kristoffersson says. “England are a different side without him, so the Swedish players think they have a chance to beat England, especially with the form Zlatan is in.

"We also know that England will play a rough style of play and go in hard on Zlatan.”

An Englishman who has made a huge impact upon Swedish football from the touchline is Roy Hodgson. There’s more respect for Hodgson in Sweden than there is for him back home.

Go on my Hodg-son: Roy Hogdson is well respected in Sweden (Image: Getty)

“Roy Hodgson set the standard for football in Sweden. History-wise, English coaches have had a big influence and you don't have to look any further than him. He was in Sweden for a long time and he set the standard and style that a lot of coaches have tried to copy since," says Sweden and Sunderland star, Sebastian Larsson.

Pavey believes that England may struggle against Sweden as “we are better against the likes of Germany and Spain where we can hit them on the counter. Against teams like Sweden we will have more of the ball and need to make sure that we use that possession well.”

Yet Pavey displays more confidence than Swedish people I have talked to. “Sweden are sloppy at set pieces and we can exploit that. I think we will win”.

France are feared more than England and the order of the next two games is something that gives Swedish football fans additional hope. If the second game was against France then the mood would be markedly different.

But after the opening defeat, a result against England is a must. There is more Swedish hope than confidence that a win is possible, with a draw being the more likely option.

Sweden hope to go into their final game with the French having already booked their quarter final slot and with Swedish qualification still a possibility.

Andy Hudson is a freelance football writer and editor of www.blagulfotboll.co.uk), an English language Swedish football site.